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"Yes"

She squeezed the bridge of her nose "Pops, wouldn’t it be nice to live in a clean, sunny, organized place where you had more than one outlet per floor? Where you could use all the doors because you didn’t have to nail one shut to cut down on drafts? Where you didn’t have to worry about falling down the stairs and breaking your neck?"

"Your grandmother’s the one who runs up and down those stairs fifty tiy fell and broke her hip? How’d you feel then? Oh, stop You’d be devastated" Surreptitiously, she slipped a corkscrew out of the drawer If she couldn’t get Pops to agree to purge, she’d just steal all his crap and bring it to Goodwill Not that there was a boo market for used corkscrews "Seriously, Pops You can’t be up on the ladder cleaning out gutters anyroaned "When you’reyou what to do, either, sweetheart If I can’t clean the gutters, what’s next? I can’t dress myself? I can’t feed s Don’t make me a helpless oldof sympathy "No, Pops, that’s not the point But you have to be realistic Your balance isn’t great anymore, and it’s way too easy to trip in here Let alone fall off the ladder like you did last year"

"You ht have a point Probably not, but maybe Now put that corkscrew back That’s my favorite one"

A knock came on the kitchen door, and Honor looked up

It was Toht we’d lend a hand"

"Oh! That’sthat’s really nice of you" She’dover breakfast Hadn’t expected him to turn up

"Mr Holland," Tom said to Pops "You reusto and rolled his eyes, apparently unable to suy to correct Tom on the title "Charlie, say hello"

"Hi," Charlie said, shaking her grandfather’s hand

"Hello, younghim on the shoulder "Maybe you can be on s"

Charlie’s lips tugged, and Honor glanced at To at the pound who’s been passed over tooup his ears at the sound of footsteps just the saave her a quick sh one, Tom Barlow She felt like she knew hi married, anyway?" Pops said

"Um, soon," Honor said

"We should take care of that, shouldn’t we?" Toe license, they had sixty days to get married, or Tom would be deported Which was exactly why she hadn’t filed yet What had seeood plan now seeerous

"Pops," she said, "Let’s go down to the cellar I know there’s stuff we should throw out down there"

"I have to check the vines," Pops said

"Don’t run off, you coward You said you’d tellThere I y reappeared in the kitchen, wearing a different dress and a little scarf, indicating that she was going out "Hello, boys! Give et to kiss a handsoed Charlie did, too, and Goggy patted his cheek Sweet, how she didn’t berate his If he was a Holland, he’d never hear the end of it

"I have a church e debate over whether or not to replace the altar cloth That Cathy Kennedy gets downright vicious so upstairs, but by all randfather’s junk"

"It’s not junk, old wonored him and left in a cloud of Jean Naté

"I’m here," cas to do on a Saturday" Abby cauys," she said "Oh, hey, Charlie I didn’t know you’d be here Another slave for uess," he mumbled Ah, adolescence Honor had been just as aard around Brogan, coet to work," Honor said "Rubber gloves are under the sink, and I have plenty of trash bags, and stop glaring at reat place to hide a body," Abby announced as they went down the warped cellar stairs "Charlie, this place was built in--what, Pops?--1781?"

"That’s right, sweetheart," he said "The first Holland got this land as a reward for fighting against your people, Toht?" Tom said "See"

He had a point The teht

"Okay," Honor said "We can definitely get rid of some of this stuff" She reached for a likely candidate

"Put that down," her grandfather said "I need that"

"Pops, it’s a moldy piece of cushion foam And it’s torn"

"So? I can wash it and use it for so"

"Like what? When would you need ross, Pops," Abby said

"I’s," Pops said "I have vines to check Nice to see you, young man," he said to Charlie "And you," he added to Tohter and make an honest woman out of her"

"Yes, sir" Tom shook his hand, and Pops cluone Maybe we can just burn the place down," Abby said

For the next hour, they stuffed bags with Pops’s precious belongings, which included a bent golf club, a broken mirror and newspapers from the 1960s Abby talked almost nonstop, bless her, and Charlie answered, shyly at first, then with more confidence as their talk turned to music

"And what have we here?" To down to exa" He looked up at Honor and grinned

It was a pile of azines, to be specific

Tohtened up "Think we should check eBay and see what these are going for?"

"Oh, ick"

"Nothing ick about her She’s lovely"

"Shush Just toss them" Man! There were dozens

"Hopefully we don’t read about a priceless collection of Playboys found at the dulanced across the cellar at Charlie "You’re right, though Best get rid of these before the lad sees the a pubescent boy without this kind of stiazines into a black trash bag, and aht a hint of Toether

When the Playboys were bagged, Toloves "Honor, do you still want to get aze to his "Sure Yes"

"Because if you don’t, I need to make another plan"

"No I do" She took a deep breath "Do you?"

"Yes" His face was sole nad worinned, and Honor’s knees practically buckled On the one hand, it’d be awfully nice to have a serious conversation with him for more than one or two seconds; on the other, that sht to Down Under